Say what you like about Robbie Williams, but he knows how to write a damn fine pop song. Some cynical people mused that his split with Guy Chambers meant that gift was beyond him now but in Stephen Duffy he's discovered a more than adequate replacement.
For Tripping is a great, great song. It really shouldn't be - it possesses a light reggae/ska feel for one thing, Robbie performs a rap in the middle and it's missing the catchy pop hook that Williams has made his trademark. Yet, rather like the previous Williams/Duffy collaboration Radio, these idiosyncrasies are what makes the song work - he can even afford to adopt a falsetto for the chorus and it proves surprisingly effective.
Lyrically, it's all a bit dark, with tales of gangsters who "don't kill their own and all love their mothers", before an anguished chorus of "I've taken as much as I'm willing to take". It's a strange choice for a comeback single, but a good one all the same - opening up another successful chapter for one of pop's most intriguing characters.
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